Bullets and Blades
by QurupecoQuill
Summary: Two rookie hunters are sent to Moga Village to get some basic practice. However, when tremors plaguing the village become more and more consistent, the two will have to face countless monsters, and possibly even find some unlikely friends. A retelling and expansion of 3 Ultimate's story, with a few twists and new characters.
1. Welcome to Moga

Chapter 1 – Welcome to Moga

"Huh. I thought this place would be larger." Jake muttered as the fishing village came into sight.

"Well, it was listed by the Guild as a 'quaint seaside town'." John replied from the rear of the ship. "A perfect place to start our hunting career!"

The two young men had wanted to hunt since they could play-fight with wooden swords and slingshots. On occasion, one would role-play as the monster, and the other would be the brave hunter risking it all for whatever reason their juvenile minds could think of. The two did grow up, but their dream grew with them, as they constantly sought to make it into a reality. They took countless training classes, from setting traps to combining items. So as soon as they both were at the required age to become hunters for the elite Hunter's Guild, John and Jake jumped at the opportunity, sending applications. It took a few months, but the Guild picked them out over hundreds of other applicants, partially because the majority of the applicants had no training, and wanted "to hold one of those big greatswords as the sun sets behind me". The Guild knew these two new recruits would be overwhelmed by a large city such as Loc Lac, so they sent them to a much smaller place. Moga Village needed a hunter or two to fend off monsters from the nearby woods, as the beasts were slowly encroaching upon their land. A low-danger zone perfect for two rookies to get their bearings.

"Whoa!" John shouted. Their boat was shaking all of a sudden, as were the waters around it.

"Just another one of those tremors." the Felyne captain chimed in. "Nya-thing to worry about!"

"I should hope so." Jake said. "This village doesn't look sturdy enough to withstand many of those." Indeed, the town did look flimsy. Its structure was simply wood, with planks for the ground, which were held up by thick support poles going around ten feet underwater. Stable enough for the rustling of everyday life? Certainly. Stable enough for repeated earthquakes? Not likely.

"Alright, we've docked at Moga Village, nya!" the captain purred. "Please take all of your purrlongings with you off of the boat, as the Guild is nyat responsible for anything lost." And with that, Jake and John grabbed their bags and stepped off of the boat and onto the dock, the boards creaking as they stood.

Upon seeing the hunters, everyone in the village stopped what they were doing. The fishers looked away from their lines, the children stopped playing ball to stare, and even the smithy's hammer fell silent. The two felt extremely uncomfortable as they walked, but the unease was soon broken by the laughter of the village's chieftain, sitting on his stool. The villagers took this as a good sign, and went back to their activities.

"There's my hunter!" the chief shouted, still laughing. But when the smoke from his pipe cleared, he saw the Guild sent not one rookie, but two. "Oh. Right. There's two of ya. It still works, though!" He began laughing yet again, and this time Jake and John joined in, but felt a bit uneasy about it. "Name's Intaishita Eiyu, but you could just call me by last name; everyone else does. If you've got something wrong with your eyes and couldn't tell, I'm Moga's chieftain."

"Nice to meet you, Eiyu." Jake responded. "I'm-"

"Not to be rude," Eiyu rudely interrupted. "But there's no need for formalities. The Guild covered all that in the paperwork. You're Jake, a blademaster, and John, a gunner."

"So, where will we be staying?" John said. He was already a bit weary from holding his luggage for this long.

"Ah yes, your lodgings." Eiyu answered. "I'll get to that after your little tour." The old man stood up, and motioned for the two to follow him. "This here's the Guild's official quest center they set up for you two." The counter was sand-colored, with bright red borders. There was also a red flag hanging, with the Guild's insignia in white. The counter seemed almost out of place in such an otherwise modest village.

"Pardon my detective skills," John said. "But there's nobody here."

"Oh, right." Eiyu recalled. "The lass that'll run this said she'd be here in a few days. Until then, you could do some hunting practice in the woods. They're within walking distance from the village."

The trio then went to the merchants, then to the fishermen, and then to Eiyu's adult son, who told the hunters he'd 'talk more when Pops wasn't around'. They were headed to the blacksmith, but Jake stopped them.

"There's a signpost here." he observed, along with not mentioning the large wooden bridge to an adjacent island. "It reads 'Moga Farm'. Did you forget to show us this?"

"Well, due to all these earthquakes we've been having recently," the chief answered. "the farm's kinda in disarray. We're getting it fixed up as fast as we can, but feel free to head there on your own time. Now, don't you wanna see the smithy to get your blades and bowguns?" The mention of shiny, newly-forged weapons made Jake and John stick to Eiyu like a Gigginox to a ceiling. They were there in a matter of seconds; after all, this was a very small place.

The blacksmith stood in front of a giant furnace, with a metal board jutting in for smithing purposes.

"So, these are the two I'll be forging for?" the blacksmith piped up. He was short, balding, and had grey hair that suggested that him and Eiyu were around the same old age.

"Yes, Kaj. Jake here is a blademaster, and John's a gunner. Should give you a bit of diversity to make things interesting."

"Now before you two say anything my hammer will make you regret," Kajiya growled at the two young hunters surprised by his appearance. "I'm a Wyverian. A right old one, at that. We've taught you humans basic things long ago, stuff like fishing and hunting. As Eiyu over there said, my name's Kajiya. Just call me Kaj; this place is built on nicknames anyways."

"Mr. Cynical there and I were close friends back in the day." Eiyu mentioned. "We would go hunting together. Ah, the days when I could wield a hefty greatsword…"

"What weapon did Kaj use?" John asked, resulting in 3 unimpressed stares.

"Anyways," Kaj continued. "I've already made you two some weapons and armor." He turned around and grabbed a longsword and a bowgun off of his crafting bench, which also had several other projects on it, some finished, some still needing work. "This here's an Iron Katana," he said as he struggled to hand the longsword to Jake without falling over himself. "And here's yer Cross Bowgun." Kaj handed it to John, along with a Guild-approved gunner's manual on different ammunition types. "I've put two full sets of Leather armor inside the hut you'll be staying in. It's actually right between here and that quest counter."

"These are very nice weapons." Jake remarked, holding his new katana at different angles, being careful not to behead anyone. This remark caused Kaj to chuckle. "What's so funny?" Jake asked.

"This gear's at the bottom of the food chain." Kaj admitted. "You want better weapons and armor, you'll need parts from monsters. Not some sissy Aptonoth bones; I'm talking bona-fide beasts that'll give you a run for your zenny. But for now, it's a good start."

"Alright, Kaj." Eiyu said. "Thanks for getting these two up to speed." He turned to the two hunters. "Now, let's show you your lodgings so you can put those bags down." John let out a relieved sigh as the three walked towards the hut.

"It's pretty roomy in here." Jake remarked after seeing the hut's interior. Indeed it was; there were weapon racks on the walls, and two armor stands, outfitted with Leather armor, of course. There was also a large item box for storage, and behind it there was not a wall, but a railing. The back of the hut was open, giving the two a good view of Moga's waters, along with a cool sea breeze.

"This looks like it'll be a great place to stay!" John said, plopping down on one of the beds.

"You two can feel free to look around and sightsee for the rest of today," Eiyu told them. "But tomorrow I'm expecting you to head out to the woods and get some hunting practice in. We never know when the next big monster attack's gonna happen." He began to walk out of the door, before he remembered something. "Ah, I almost forgot." he said, as he turned to face the two. "On behalf of everyone in this village…" He grew a wry smile. "Welcome to Moga."


	2. A Deserted Island

Chapter 2: A Deserted Island

Jake slept like a rock that night, even though he'd never slept in that bed before. It was just such a long day, and there was so much to absorb. Unfortunately, his attempts to sleep in late were thwarted by another tremor soon after daybreak. This one wasn't more intense, but it lasted a few seconds longer, just enough for it to be a noticeable difference.

"John, are you okay?" Jake called out after the quake stopped. But there was no response. In fact, John wasn't in the hut, let alone in his bed. As a sudden wave of fear came over him, Jake hurried to put on his Leather armor and grab his Iron Katana, putting it in its sheath already slung on his back. Gear equipped, he dashed outside.

"That earthquake was a bit longer than last time, wasn't it?" John asked.

"Eh, it's no big deal." Eiyu's son responded. "Moga's sturdier than it looks. It'll take a leviathan to take down this village!" He laughed with John; the two had made friends very quickly, despite the age gap of a few years. "So do you think that'll get your friend out of bed?" he said.

"Nah, Jake's not really a light sleeper." John answered. Almost on cue, Jake dashed out of the hut, ready for battle. This caused the two to stare at him in silence, and vice versa. The chief's son was the first to chuckle, which soon turned into full-on guffawing, followed by John joining in. Jake, although blushing a bit, eventually laughed with them.

"Jake," John said once the laughter had stopped. "This is Nomusuko Eiyu, the chief's son."

"You know I don't like the words 'chief' and 'son' together." the chief's son remarked. "I just go by Nomu. Nicknames are common around here, after all."

Kajiya overheard this from his nearby smithy, and took this opportunity to shout "I told you so!" at Jake and John.

"Anyways," Nomu continued. "I hear you two are heading out to the woods today for some hunting."

"Of course." Jake said. "That is what we came here for."

"Great." Nomu responded. "To be honest, Moga Woods is a bit of a misleading name. The terrain's pretty diverse out there, with plains, and cliffs, and seashores…"

"Oh my!" John exclaimed. This boring forest stroll just turned into a multi-terrain adventure.

"There's even some signs of a lost civilization there." Nomu said. "Some of the walls in the cliffside areas are actually parts of old buildings; you can make out the window holes, too. I guess it'd be more fitting to call the woods a deserted island. But hey, the first name stuck when it was proposed, and it doesn't really matter. Anyways, you two be careful out there. Even a small Jaggi can be deadly if you're not paying attention."

"Right! I just need to grab my gear and we'll be off!" John exclaimed, running back to the hut.

"Hey! Jake!" Kaj yelled from his smithy. Jake turned to him, and then ran to meet him. "If you two are going out in the field today," he continued. "you'll need these." He handed Jake a pickaxe reinforced with Machalite, as well as a beginner's "Book of Combos". "You might as well go spelunking in the caves for ore, 'cause that's the first step to improving your weapons. Get some herbs and blue mushrooms too; you'll find out you can't get enough of those." Jake nodded and thanked Kaj for his advice, right as John ran up next to him fully geared.

"Ready to go?" John asked.

"As ever." Jake answered. The two proceeded forward, to a seemingly unstable wooden bridge leading to a large island not too far away.

"It's so beautiful out here!" John said. The view was indeed breathtaking, as they were on a high plateau, with a large dropoff to a river in front of them, and several mountains jutted out from afar.

"So here's the plan." Jake instructed. "Kaj gave me this pickaxe and some book on combining. I'll head to the caves, and you can look around for useful materials. And, of course, we'll take out some monsters to get hunting practice while we're here. We'll meet back here by sundown." That gave them plenty of time, as the sun was directly overhead.

"Sounds great." John responded, as the two split up on two descending paths.

On the other side of the island, where land once again met sea, something was off. The resident Epioth, who were usually calm and docile, were in a frenzy, swimming in circles. They sensed something, but they only knew it was an immense danger to them. Their fears were proven correct, as a large creature could be seen swimming in from the west, from an area secluded by natural barriers. It moved its serpentine body in a way that was graceful, but still intimidating. It saw all the Epioth in a fuss, and it rapidly swam towards them. They were frozen in fear by this newfound fiend as it curled itself up. The brown spikes that contrasted with its blue plating began to glow a neon blue, which caused the Epioth significant confusion. It then uncurled, screeching as the spikes discharged a large field of electricity around it, instantly killing all the nearby Epioth as the rest fled in terror. The monster licked its lips before it began viciously chowing down on its meal.

"It's so damp in here…" Jake muttered as he went deeper into the caves. They were almost labyrinthine, and he had to take care not to get lost. Fortunately, many clumps of ore were visibly jutting out from the walls. He went up to one and whacked it with his pickaxe, causing a chunk of dark blue ore to drop down. "This must be Machalite." Jake observed, putting it in his pouch. He proceeded to drain the cluster of its ore, and moved on to another one, plentiful in iron. He was going to look for more Machalite, when a vein with pale crystals caught his eye. He mined off a chunk, and when he went to pick it up, it was cold to the touch. "How did Ice Crystals form in such a warm and sticky cave?" Jake pondered aloud. He took all the crystals like he did with the ores, and moved on in search of more ore.

"Feels like there's some mosquito on my leg." Jake remarked in surprise. "I'm surprised it could pierce this leather." He bent down to pluck it off, when he saw it was not at all a mosquito. It was a Giggi. The oversized leech kept siphoning blood off the hunter, getting larger by the second. Jake shouted in surprise and plucked the Giggi off his leg, leaving a circle of small teeth marks. He threw the parasite at a wall, but that didn't deter it from its lunch. It got up quickly and began swiftly slithering towards him. Jake readied his longsword, and sliced vertically at the Giggi. It wasn't exactly a clean cut, but the leech died nonetheless. "Thank goodness there's no more of those…" Jake said. Almost as if it was on cue, another Giggi's cry could be heard from across the cave. When the hunter whipped around to confront it, it was oozing out of a pale white egg sac, with other Giggi crawling out. Jake ran faster than he could ever remember running, and made a beeline towards the cave's exit, and then all the way back to the meeting point

Not too far away, John was in a field area, right where the land started getting damp, as an ocean was ahead. He wasn't interested in that, though; all of his effort was in finding as many herbs and mushrooms he could fit in his pouch. A nearby group of Jaggi spotted him, and began roaring in his direction.

"Alright!" John exclaimed. "Target practice!" He removed his bowgun from his back strap and unfolded it. It was simple, only consisting of bones reinforced by iron, but still capable of killing. He loaded a few rounds of standard ammunition into the bowgun, and took aim at the Jaggi, who began approaching. Focusing on the Jaggi leading the pack, John pulled the trigger, causing a loud sound as the shot was fired. Almost immediately following that, the pack's leader dropped dead in his tracks. This startled the others, and while some fled back to their nearby nest, the few remaining rushed at John. He shot one in the torso, and rolled away as the other two tried jumping at him. With two more movements of John's index finger, there were two more dead Jaggi on the ground.

"Not too shabby." John remarked, moving closer to the corpses. They weren't too damaged from the outside, since one shot was enough to do them in. John folded up his bowgun and put it back on his back strap, then pulling out his carving knife from his belt. He went from Jaggi to Jaggi, scoring a few scales and some choice bones. "My pouch is almost full…" John noticed as he finished storing his loot. "Might as well go back to our meeting point. Not much else to do here." With that, he began walking away, towards the plateau.

The two met at their meeting point at the same time, and while John was calm, Jake was visibly exhausted.

"What happened with you?" John asked, confused.

"Ah, you know," Jake replied. "Just some Giggi in the caves. Nothing too bad."

"Good to know you weren't frightened or anything." John said. "I found plenty of herbs and mushrooms, and even some monster parts."

"Great." Jake said. "I got a bunch of different ores. Hopefully Kaj can give our weapons an upgrade now." He and John turned to see the sun setting in the distance; time really does fly. They then turned to the long wooden bridge not too far in the distance, and began the stroll back to Moga.

"Hmm, yeah. I can do something with this." Kajiya muttered as the two rookies showed him their spoils. "Leave your weapons on my crafting bench. I'll have 'em ready by tomorrow morning." Jake and John thanked him and began to go towards their hut, when Kajiya called out to them. "Oh, and courtesy of my pal Eiyu, there's a large glass bottle that's been installed in your lodgings. Mix those shrooms and herbs up in there, and you'll have some healing gunk; just add water, and you'll have some potions you can put in the smaller bottles next to it."

Upon entering the hut, Jake took off his weapon and armor, and crashed on his bed.

"What a day…" he said, tired.

"We didn't really do that much." John chuckled as he made his way to the large glass container. It had a nozzle on it too, presumably for getting the potions into the smaller glass bottles. He took off the lid, and tossed the herbs and mushrooms inside, pounding them and mixing them with the handle of his carving knife. The plants mixed to form a dark green goo. John then used a smaller bottle to grab some seawater and poured it into the large container. The goo was dispersed in the water, forming a lighter green liquid. The canister was by no means full, but what they had should last them for a week or two. Suddenly, fatigue came over John as well, and he hung up his bowgun and armor and got into his bed.

"Good night, Jake." he called across the room, but to no response; Jake was already asleep! John chuckled to himself and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.


End file.
